chrysler's management forced to bow to the united autoworkers union as the company rehired 13 employeesho had been caught drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana while on the job. chrysler's spokesman said the company was forced to respect a union arbitrator's decision. and while the president was in michigan, reports that a chinese auto parts company has purchased bankrupt a123 systems, a battery maker that received more than half of a $250 million taxpayer-funded obama stimulus grant. a123 systems was once heralded by energy secretary steven chu as a success story for american manufacturing. the green battery maker blaming weak demand for electric cars for their failure. china, obvioussy, has plans to fix all of that with a little help from the american taxpayer and, of course, the president. wile we focus on the fiscal cliff negotiations, or more appropriately the impasse, many of our state governments aren't in much better shape. state pension systems, unfunded liabilities are now estimated to be in the range of $2.5 trillion to almost $4 trillion. leading is california with more tha

why punish autoworkers who have already shown they're willing to cooperate with management?well, i think it's important to make a distinction with wisconsin and ohio. that was about collective bargaining. that was about the relationship between employers and unions. this is nothing to do with that. right to work is about the relationship between the union and workers. this is about being pro-workers. giving workers the choice. if anything, this should encourage unions to be more responsive to workers in terms of saying they need to show a valued proposition of why they're a great place to join, and i have met a number of people that say they would like to choose to join the union or have the flexibility not to, and they believe they'll get better accountable from unions. in many residents it could be a longer -- this is something that, again, it's stepping up for workers. this is not to interfere in employer relationships at all. >> the workers, of course, feel that it's union busting and it is interfering with their relationships. you had said that you think it is divisive,

. >> for the government too. >> astonishing for the autoworkers. >> eleanor?> president obama's implementation of the dream act through an executive order. >> susan? >> i thought it was obama's class warfare during the election. it helped him win. >> clarence? and the obama campaign's ground game getting the campaign offices open out there. >> boldest political tactic to bet. to bet citizens setting themselves on fire by the scores, self-immoe lating to attract wavering world attention to what they see is china's repressive world. okay worst political scandal. pat? >> worst political scandal? i would say general petraeus and his girlfriends. >> really? >> well, i brought down -- look they almost brought down the entire central command down there in florida over with due respect two young ladies and it was a horrendous scandal and destroyed the career of one of the most famous american generals of the 21st century. >> conduct unbecoming a gentleman. >> what he said. go ahead eleanor. >> i have to agree but i must say i'm waiting for the book i'm sure he will wr

the united autoworkers. to give our viewers some perspective, when you think union, you think uaw and bob king. so no one better to weigh in on the union perspective for us. bottom line, we were just talking, and you said, looks like this is going to pass. i know the governor is going to sign it, because he told me that on friday. what does this mean for the workers in the state of michigan? >> well, it demonstrates to workers and really a broad spectrum of the populous that we have to work hard, we have to fight hard to protect our rights. we want a michigan that everybody prospers in, not just the bosses, not just the right wing. we want a michigan for everybody. and i think you see the turnout today, you hear the reaction around the state of michigan, people don't want the right-wing agenda that's being passed in this lame duck. >> reporter: here's my question. the argument that the governor makes and republicans here and supporters of this is why not give individual workers a choice to join the union if

at the same time he is going to michigan tomorrow, where he will make the same case to autoworkers, the same types of middle-class people who helped him get elected in the industrial midwest. >> democrats are seen to have the most leverage in negotiations. it seems the options for republicans are narrowing. >> president obama has said he will not make a deal without an increase in the tax rates on people who make more than $250,000, which is something that republicans refuse to do. they want -- do not want to raise tax rates on anyone. as senator corker of tennessee said -- president obama holds the cards. >> what do you think his opinion represents? is this just one senate republican, or does this show kind of a shift in attitude among republicans? >> it certainly shows -- a number of republicans are looking to make a deal with the president. but until speaker boehner and the house republicans come to terms with raising tax rates president obama has said he will make a deal with them. >> we will see if republicans capitulate. let's talk about the job report that came out -- now the ele

part because of historic collective bargaining agreements between the detroit three and the united autoworkers. we have a labor management partnership that works. this, as you said was about politics. it was about gutting organized labor and the irony is i work for a labor management fund connected with a laborer's union and we invest almost $5 million a year in apprenticeship and training programs. we operate skilled workers to build complicated infrastructure projects like the governor wants to build in this state. so it will make michigan less competitive. it puts us in a race to the bottom with low-wage, low-skill states, that's bad for our state. >> eliot: tim, you were one of the leaders in the legislature. many of us looking at michigan and think is a state that voted for president obama. just re-elected debbie stabenow to the senate. you are as blue as a state can be. what explains this tension almost this schizophrenia where you have a state legislature that seems to be taking away one of the core principles, one of the core values in fairness and equity not in -- in negotiating power

that changes the picture for everyone from public school teachers that are unionized to autoworkers on the line at gm, ford or chrysler. interestingly, though, today, too here, brooke, you had fellow union workers protesting that aren't even part of the legislation. it does not apply to firefighters or police officers. but yet here today we found firefighters who were protesting this saying this is bad for workers across michigan. and nationally. i want you to listen to ted coakley, he's one of those and he explains why. does this mean the gbeginning o a death of unions in the country? do you think it is that big symbolically? >> i think things like this are waking the sleeping giant. i think workers and working families are tired of losing. they want a fair share of the prosperity of this state, and this country, and i think that's going to help build the union movement. >> reporter: -- from this right to work legislation. why are you here? >> that's correct. as of right now we're exempt from this legislation. but it doesn't change the fact that we want to be here to support all our b

first applies to private sector employees like autoworkers. second one is public sector employees like teachers. though, of course, it exempts firefighters and police officers which is a classic move that republicans use off ton pit unions against each other. this is the same trick that they probably learned i'm sure everybody knows from their colleagues in wisconsin. but even as protests continue, these bills are heading to governor rick schneider's desk. what's he going to do? back in february, he criticized the right-to-work laws in congressional testimony. he criticized them. >> my perspective is i made it clear it is not on my agenda. right to work is an issue that's a very divisive issue. i don't believe it is appropriate in michigan during 2012. that's the governor that people elected. somebody who was going to take a middle ground. who was not going to be divisive. but since then, he's changed his tune and today he vowed to sign those very devices laws. >> right to work is about the relationship between the union and workers. and this

cindy estrada of the united autoworkers, how could labor not see this coming?know, part of not seeing it coming was because for a long time the governor has said he didn't want this divisive fight. and we went to the table, a number of unions, to talk to the governor about how we work together in the same way that we did in the auto industry. and so he misled us. he made it sound like he wanted to sit down and figure out how to keep this off his table. but when the time came for him to take leadership and be a real leader, he failed. and he blindsided us, frankly. i mean, he was saying that he wasn't going to put this on his agenda, only to turn around after many, many talks and put it on his agenda. >> here is governor snyder explaining why he might sign the bill. here it is. >> i don't believe this is fundamentally anti-union. i believe it's pro-worker, giving workers more authority about their own lives and situation and giving them the freedom to choose. >> cindy, is this pro-worker? >> this is not pro-worker. pro-worker is when you have a transparent proce

the state, which is the heart of the united autoworkers and ground zero for union rights is poised to sign a major anti-labor bill into law today. the president weighed in on that, speaking yesterday in redford. >> these right to work clause, they don't have anything with economics. they have everything to do with politics. what they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. america is not going to compete based on low skill, low wage, no workers rights. that's not our competitive advantage. there's always going to be some other country that can treat its workers even worse. >> the house speaker, john boehner, is speaking now on the house floor regarding the fiscal cliff. let's take a listen. >> beyond 1:50 p.m. today. >> the speaker of the house for five minutes. >> the speaker, last week republicans made a serious offer to avert the fiscal cliff, and most of it was based on testimony given last year by president clinton's former chief of staff erskine bolles. as he said on sunday, we have to cut spending. well, he is right. washington has a spending pro

in michigan you are talking about autoworkers. >> right. >> in ohio you were talking about police, firefighters, people who are generally popular. when you are talking about teachers, nurses, the kind of people represented by sciu, you kind of get one vibe from the public, but when you talk about teamsters and autoworkers, you get another. >> i have never heard as much conversation as i've heard in the last week over, wow, you know what, if you take a grab and you look in the 1970s as when wages -- average wages, started to decline for workers and you put another number in there and another line and it's unionization rates and those two things go down almost together in lock step, i mean, that's true, and it's a really graphic example of why unions matter. >> absolutely. i think mary kay's point about how you really can't have a sustainable recovery unless you put more money in the pockets of the average worker. if you think about it, our economy is made up 70% of consumer spending. right? in the last three years 90%, 93%, actually, of all of the wage gains in this country have gone to the top

well, the president was in michigan today speaking before autoworkers and selling his tax plan.> if congress doesn't act soon, meaning the next few weeks, starting on january 1st everybody is going to see their income taxes go up. it's true. y'all don't like that, huh? we can solve this problem. all congress needs to do is pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. everybody. that means 98% of americans and probably 100% of you. >> in some republicans are slowly but steadily fatesing a reality on the fiscal negotiations. leading the way, senator bob corker of tennessee. >> there is a growing group of folks that are looking at this and realizing we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end. i mean, we have one house, that's it. the presidency and the senate is in the democrats' hands. a lot of people are putting forth a theory and i actually think it has merit where you go ahead and give the president the 2% increase that he's talking about, the rate increase on the top 2%, and all of a sudden the shift goe

especially those second-tier lower paid autoworkers. >> i know it's very controversial.nd union members in particular are pushing back against it, saying it should be our freedom and organize if we want to. how you respond when? >> they still have the right to organize. the brightwork does not do anything to collective-bargaining except for taking the union's ability to get a worker fired. they can still bargain over wages and hours and working condions. right to work does not ban unions. it makes them stronger because now the union has to be accountable to their members and cannot take them for granted. gerri: i am sure many union members agree with you. we need some control and level playing field for workers. thank you forcoming on. if you get some kind of movement on that night, please let us know. we would love to report it. thank you for coming on and showing us these numbers. it's just amazing. thank you. joining me now, is jerry brown. welcome to the show. it is great to have you. we played this very controversial soundbite from this woman who said it hould be qu

the united autoworkers union born here in 1935 but it wouldn't be a blow to unions here in michigan.t could undercut the power and influence of unions across the country. >> all right. we'll be getting more from you as this develops. a lot of people who are quite angry about this. this is a controversial issue in state of michigan. we are also watching violence in egypt. mass gunmen opening fire on opposition protesters in cairo's tahrir square rounding several people. crowds are gathering at key spots in the capital including outside the presidential palace. rival rallies taking place, those is just four days before a vote on their proposed constitution. reza sayah joining us live from cairo where soldiers are guarding the palace. i imagine a lot of nervous people there. s that remained peaceful today? >> reporter: yeah, that's probably the best news at this hour new yoo violence, no clash. dramatic days in the political crisis. this is another one of those days because there's potential of things getting ugly because two sided of the conflict called for mass demonstrations, opposit

the future of the labor movement, michigan, a union stronghold, the birth inflation of the united autoworkerson, but transformed to the nation's 24th right-to-work state, limiting union power and the guy the unions call a "rat" the michigan governor is here. now. >> welcome, big news, i am neil cavuto, 24 hours after governor snyder signed the right-to-work legislation into law, sparking all of the angry protests, it looks like the battle is just going. leave us alone. or we are coming for you. we are done. >>neil: some unions are out for a lot more than their point of view be but for blood and they are not holding back. and neither are state lawmakers. >> we are going to pass something that will undo 100 years of labor relations. there will be blood. >>neil: everyone should cool that. but is the governor worried about what he unlived? the michigan governor snyder with me now. are you surprised by this, governor? >>guest: it is good to be with you. i knew this is a divisive issue with a lot of protests before we started considering the bills. this is the right thing to do. it is actually is b

michigan's united autoworkers stood up to the bosses and national guard for 44 days and the victory changed the uaw from a loose collection of locals to the powerful union it is today. but they are challenged. tonight, michigan is starting the next chapter a long history of fighting for workers' rights. let's bring in senator debbie stabenow. senator, this is a real stuff one to stomach for a lot of workers and middle classers in this state. in the big picture, what does this mean for michigan and the country? >> first of all, ed, it's really outrageous what's happening. as you were talking about, michigan is the home of the middle class in our country. we're the state that started building things, making automobiles and to find ourselves in this situation is terrible. i want to step back and remind everyone that in 2008 and 2009, when the auto industry was on the brink, it was the uaw and workers coming together working with the companies that agreed to cut their wages in half to save the companies, to take on retiring health care costs, to save the companies. you know, we thought we had t

bob king is president of the united autoworkers. scott hagerstrom is michigan state director for americans for prosperity. let me show you what the governor said earlier today when he was a guest on "andrea mitchell reports." >> the way i viewed it, it's on the table, it's a hot issue. let's show some leadership, so i stepped up to say when i review it, i think it's a good thing. it's about being pro-worker, giving freedom of choice to workers. secondly it's about economy development. we will get more and better jobs coming to michigan because we're going to be more competitive. it's important to make a distinction with wisconsin and ohio. that was about collective bargaining. that was about the relationship between employers and unions. this has nothing to do with that. right to work is about the relationship between the union and workers, and this is about being pro-workers, giving workers the choice. if anything, this should encourage unions to be more responsive to workers in terms of saying they need to show a value proposition

the united autoworkers union was born here in michigan. it is hard for the folks who live here to see the power of the unions be diminished and the reality is, if this law passes, brooke, it means not only in michigan you'll see the power of unions fall, but this could also be the first salvo for unions across the country to lose their clout as well. brooke? >> alison kosik, thank you. we won't go too far from you. want to remind all of you, we're watching, awaiting the president in redford, michigan. as soon as we see him, we will bring you back to live pictures on the issue of these unions in lansing. also wanted to let you know, the vice president of the uaw will be joining me here within the next hour or so. and we'll talk to her. she's negotiating. she's the one negotiating with the governor on behalf of some 17,000 members who are working for the state of michigan and we'll ask her if she has some last minute salvo or plea for the governor. stay tuned for that. i want to switch gears to a fast moving story, a group of syrian rebels h

we've seen the federation of musicians out here, united autoworkers, the teamsters, they've come fromwest virginia. we've seen them from different states, all of them showing up in numbers again to illustrate what happens when you go after the unions, and in this case make this michigan the 24th right to work state. what is interesting about all of this is there isn't that much they can do other than make their voices heard and express their anger. the republicans have the vote in both houses. the legislation will go through for what should be called a vote of concurrence and it is expected to pass easily. the governor of course very supportive. it will move to the governor's desk where it's expected to be signed. that's a fight you have right here in lancing, michigan, a place symbolically important for the labor movement, back to you in new york. >> reporter: i no you've talked to a lot of the protestors back there, what is their biggest beef about this new law do they think they are going to lower their wages or weaken their collective bargaining position? which by the way still ex

sector workers like teachers and public schools and it would affect private sector workers like autoworkers or ford. the governor here, republican rick snihinsider is saying thiss what's best important the workers, the labor workers do not agree. >> to get freedom of choice to the workplace and that -- legislators move promptly and efficiently in moving it through the legislature and when it arrives on my desk i plan on signing it. >> in the state of michigan we have been -- had a fledgling economy for quite some time. we have been -- way down at the bottom of the list in the country. we have just started to make a comeback bypassing right-to-work, that's taking that comeback and cutting the legs out from under it. it will hurt the economy and will hurt the state and hurt the citizens. >> and to break down the numbers for you, don, according to data from the bureau of labor statistics, looking at median weekly salaries important union workers nationwide, they make more, $938 a week, versus $729 a week for non-union workers. there is a wage differential there typically labor lawyer told me,

in 1936 autoworkers in flint, michigan, staged a sit-down demanding their rights. it lasted 44 days and they won. general motors recognized the united auto workers for the first time. and in 1965, michigan's republican governor george romney worked with unions to sign historical bills recognizing the right to collective bargaining. nearly 50 years later, the gop is trying to undo all that progress. a massive power grab by a republican party that just lost an election. this didn't just happen out of the blue. we're learning this has been orchestrated by far right conservatives who have made threats against politicians and literally bullied their way into getting what they wanted. >> dick devos and extreme right wing control what's going on in the state. and the koch brothers, americans for prosperity all pushing for the legislation, threatening the governor, threatening different representatives. they were threatened that they would have a primary challenge from the tea party. >> threats, intimidation. on democratic moves. right now michigan is the center of the rig

the president was in michigan speaking before autoworkers and selling his tax plan. >> if congress doesn'tct soon, meaning the next few weeks, starting on january 1st, everyone is going to see their income taxes go um. it's true. you all don't like that. we can solve this problem. all congress needs to do is pass a law that could prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. everybody. [ applause ] that means 98% of americans and probably a hundred percent of ewe. >> some americans are slowly but steadily facing on the reality of fiscal americans. >> there is a growing group of folks that are looking at this and realizing that we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end. i mean, we had one house. that's it. the presidency and the senates and the democrat's hands. so a lot of people are putting forth a theory and i actually think it has merit where you go in and give the president the two percent increase that he's talking about, the rate increase on the top two percent. and, all of the sudden, the shift goes back to entitlement. >> well, se

so suddenly they have a narrative saying mooirn autoworkers make more money than people in mexico and. ordinary citizens in those countries have no rights to change their traditions and now we have ap narrative saying american autoworkers make too mitch but they don't. and point two was to undo labor law. regan came in 1981 and regan, as we famously know. >> let me stop you there on that nearive. undoing the labor lay starts much earlier. >> absolutely. >> i'm just trying to -- >> i know, but the 47 is when it really starts. to say what happens in '47. in some ways '47 -- the opening thing in this batting is really '47. >> i'll start at 35. no one understands how this works. >> hear that america. none of you understand this. >> gun safety and restoring american workers from a middle class standard it's all on a continuum. 1935, the national relation's act is passed. the mlra. by 1947, the taft hartley act is passed and that begins a systematic rollback of labor law in this country but it takes a while to work in the courts because the courts mike more and more increased rulings that e

named olga maddar who started working in auto plants in 1970 and first female member of the united autoworkers. she was one of the first co-founders of the coalition of labor union women and she became a president in 1974. as president of clue, she led the first national campaign against discrimination against women in the private health-insurance industry. in a speech reported in newspapers around the country she announced insurance companies were charging women premiums as much as 160% higher than men. insurers justified the practice by arguing women have higher health costs. they describe us as clunkers like old cars, we break down. we are unreliable, we're out to defraud and bankrupt the insurance industry. meddar pointed out as well as charging higher premiums the insurance company refused to cover childbirth and pregnancy and offered only minimal coverage at high expense. because of the concept of moral hazard pregnancy and childbirth were considered to be uninsurable conditions because women supposedly planned them in advance. you are not supposed to buy health insurance knowing you are

right to work in michigan, the home of the united autoworkers. the stakes are changing. we will talk to him coming the. >> oppenheimer fund economist brian leverett on the 60-40 portfolio. he says it will bring you profits beyond the fiscal cliff. dave: an exciting our coming up. we will tell you what drove the markets today with today's data download. of next week on wall street following better than expected november jobs report. the dow and s&p ending prior to eke out weekly gains, the nasdaq closed in the red ending down 1% a lot of that because of what happened to apple. financial and industrial for this week's top performing sectors while materials and technology lad a bit. the u.s. economy added 146,000 jobs in november as the unemployment rate dropped to four year low of 7.7%. today's report may not be as strong as it seemed, reporting employers added 49,000 fewer jobs in september and october than initially estimated. a preliminary reading showing consumer confidence plunging to its lowest level in four months. early december americans prepare for a potentially

certainly, chatting with a lot of having the united autoworkers as a backdrop is sending a message he'sside if he didn't sy that in the remarks but another explosive labor battle in the midwest. in michigan is the newest battleground there. >> mark, thank you very much. >>> more now on the heavy duty negotiating taking place over the fiscal cliff. that's part of the reason that the president is in michigan bringing his message to the people and yesterday the president and house speaker john boehner brought their message to one another. the first one on one in more than three weeks. will there be a deal to include what's called serious entitlement reform and cuts? joining me now congresswoman bass of california. it's a pleasure to have you on again. >> thanks, thanks for having me on, tamron. >> absolutely. the president is in michigan. i want to read what senator dick durbin said on entitlements and reform. let me play it. >> i do believe there should be means testing and those of us with the higher income and retirement should pay more. that can be part of the solution but when you tal

michigan where the auto industry and those unions that have a lot of members working for those autoworkers did work for the middle class here. a gentleman said that this was a nail in the kofb for organized labor and middle class not only here in michigan but around the country for many other families around america, as well. if this passes and the governor says he will sign these in to law, probably tomorrow, michigan will become the 24th state to become a right to work state, a lot of people here at least unhappy about that. back up to you guys. >> all right. thanks, ron mott, in lansing, michigan. let's take this to the table now. toure, your thoughts? >> a friend of mine at the protests as a journalist. he said in the building they're saying they won't leave and may have a violent removal ahead of us. she talked about americans for prosperity. their tent force bring dismantled after throwing pennies at the union workers. your labor isn't worth these. this is not concern of workers or choice or freedom. the buzz words thrown around. this is about helping business lower wages in states w

here's united autoworkers' president bob king talking to my colleague andrea mitchell within the lastour. >> this is seen as part of a right-wing agenda and the lame duck not only attacking women's rights and teachers and schools and everything that's good for working families. >> let me bring in the editor of "inside michigan politics." bill, thank you for your time. what do you make of the assertion of a right-wing agenda? >> well, it's certainly more conservative elements of the republican party and the business community that are behind right to work. no question about it. but the important thing is enough moderate republicans support it, including the governor himself, that it was able to get through the legislature. >> there are many in that state who believe that the governor blindsided the unions here, that i believe the one assertion was that it was a 180, they weren't expecting this from governor snyder. >> i don't think he really blind-sided them. they might like to say that and, yes, it is true he's been saying for two years this is not on his agenda and i think basically

one of the biggest labor unions in the country, united autoworkers, is firmly against the law which limitsr. michigan's republican governor says he'll sign the bill if it hits his desk this week. >>> you know, it's been dubbed the fireball over texas. a bright light was seen streaking across the houston sky friday morning and for a few hours it was the walk of the town. debra wrigley of ktrk has the story. >> reporter: from a nasa camera, it looked like a bright light above the earth. these are from eyewitness viewers around the houston area. just as day was breaking a bright flash of light that some people thought was lightning. >> i was like i guess it's going to rain. >> reporter: it wasn't the weather and it was spotted all around texas. this map just a sampling of sightings in the houston area, and these are some of the pictures sent to abc 13.com showing a small area of colored light. others showing a trail behind it. and people have been talking about it all day. >> taking a picture of the sky like a big flash. >> co-workers who are talking about did you hear about the flash this mo

with the fiscal cliff just 22 days away, the president is on the move heading to michigan to rally autoworkerspport for higher taxes on the wealthy and greater investment in u.s. manufacturing. the president traveled to a suburb of detroit touring an engine plant that's announcing a $100 million expansion in production and jobs. and even as the president touted that economic bright spot, he renewed his case to extend tax cuts for 98% of americans that are due to expire at the end of the year. >> how many of you can afford to pay another $2,200 in taxes? not you? >> no! >> that's a hit you can't afford to take. and by the way, that's not a good hit for businesses either. >> the president's urgent push come as the white house and congress enter the deadline phase in their negotiations to get a deal passed by next friday, the last day congress is in session. president obama and house speaker john boehner know they have to reach agreement this week if there's to be a deal, which is why they met behind closed doors on sunday. spokesmen for both men say that lines of communication remain open with t

. >> the autoworkers who worked with the big three to save the american autoindustry and together workings. >> steve: so the union saved the autoindustry . stewart varny said facts show. who was it. >> that statement was nonsense. that was sheer nonsense. the unions did not save detroit, taxpayers put in $60 billion . have their pension and health fund bailed out and the unions had a piece of detroit dirt cheap and bond holders were virtually destroyed and stock holders destroyed and the taxpayer has not got their money back. >> gretchen: and businesses that were privately owned were taken away. the unions got the long end of the stick. >> it is it a absolute myth to suggest that the unions saved detroit. it is the other way around. the taxpayer saved detroit, and still the taxpayer hasn't got their money back. we are 20 billion in the hold to general motors and 12 billion in what used to be called gmac and now allied financial and billion and half to chrisler and not yet paid back. >> steve: we had a bunch of gm stock. if you had gm stock or chrysler before the bailout your stock value w

the mission has tens of thousands of autoworkers is the sixth highest of all unemployment rate.h its competitive edge. elizabeth corridon.. kron 4. >>pam: the man charged with gunning an unarmed teenager in florida will remain under 24-hour g-p-s monitoring while awiting trial. a judge today denied george zimmerman's request to travel outside seminole county without permission. zimmerman's lawyers wanted the restriction loosened because they said he was living in fear,. zimmerman is charged with second degree murder for the february shooting of trayvon martin. a shooting zimmerman claims was made in self defense enou >> former president george h-w bush's stay in a houston hospital is stretching into a third week. he was admitted back on november 23rd with bronchitis. and he is still there recuperating. methodist hospital says the former president is stable condition. it has not yet set a discharge date. bush's doctor says the condition was never life- threatening. at 88, he is the oldest living former president. >>pam: at least five homes have been destroyed in west virginia. af

he is kerri bowman, union conservative, uaw member and autoworker.s great to be with you. stuart: we have an argument between the mayor of lansing and myself and company members about what is right to work. he is saying essentially that we are denying workers the right to form a union. you are on the other side of the sense. what do you say? >> it is all propaganda because i listen to him try to like and michigan to the conditions of china and this is the propaganda we have been hearing from day one as union members and we know for shore all of that is total wise and incorrect. right to work represents giving workers a choice, the freedom of chalets to choose whether or not they want to form, julian or assist a labor organization or the right to refrain from any such activity. right to work was given to federal employees over 50 years ago by a democrat president john f. kennedy and that is all we're asking, to have the same rights as federal employees over 50 years. stuart: you are a uaw member. if you get right to work rules in michigan, does that n

the workers at the saturn plan are members of the united autoworkers. but it is a right-to-work statement and over the last 30 years there are probably a dozen large assembly plants in the southeastern part of the united states sms there are about 1,000 suppliers in our state. what has been the effect of the arrival of the art owe industry in tennessee? it attracted, aamong other things, by our right-to-work law? one-third of our manufacturing jobs are auto jobs and what's been the effect on the united states? it's kept in the united states a competitive environment for those who want to sell cars in the united states, can make them in the united states. and if we hadn't had that competitive environment, most of those cars would be made in mexico or some other place around the world. you don't believe me, read david halverstam's work, a book called "the reckoning" about the american auto industry. the big three carmakers, united autoworkers, had enjoyed setting wages, prices, got noncompetitive, they laughed at these little datsuns that knee swans selli

because as historic as it may be, as symbolic as it may be, michigan, the birth place of the united autoworkers, the cradle of organized labor, is certain now for at least a time to become a right-to-work state, allison. alisyn: if you show us around outside, we also have a live shot from inside the capitol where you can hear protesters chanting, people stomping their feet. so, mike, it looks like this is going to go on all day. >> reporter: it certainly will go on for a long time, it just depends how long they want to stay here. the protest has become a bit disorganized as far as going across the street. as we take a look around, you can see how many people are here, again, making their voices heard because that is the one thing they can do. a lot of them are upset saying this is political retribution for an effort that was called proposition 2, and what it would have done was enshrine collective bargaining rights in michigan's constitution, making collective bargaining rights untouchable. governor snyder told me this morning that he had asked them not to do that because that would open up the

he'll be meeting with some autoworkers, asking them to support his plan to avoid the fiscal cliff.esterday the president invited house speaker john boehner to the white house for their first face-to-face meeting in weeks. neither party releasing any details of what transpired in that meeting. reuters is reporting the house republican offer issued last week, quote, remains the republican offer. speaker john boehner is still waiting for a new proposal from president obama, that is all uncording to an unnamed aide to the speaker. meanwhile some republicans are calling on speaker john boehner to give the president what he wants on taxes so the party can focus on cutting entitlement programs. >> a lot of people are putting forth a theory, and i actually think it has merit where you go ahead and give the president the 2% increase that he's talking about, the rate increase on the top 2%, and all of a sudden the shift goes back to entitlements. >> if speaker john boehner ends up with senator corker has just said he is we will get a large agreement. but speaker john boehner hasn't said that

bob king, united autoworkers president yesterday. >> i think that unions -- i think things like thisant a fair share of the prosperity of this state and this country and i think that's going to help build the union movement. >> stephanie: yeah. i love the republican house speaker. this is about freedom. fairness and equality. these are basic american rights, rights that should unite us. that's why we did this behind closed doors with no referendum because we knew it would unite us. >> freedom for ceos. >> stephanie: michigan's future has never been brighter because workers are free. >> free to live on the streets. >> stephanie: yes. >> in winter. >> stephanie: ah yes. senator carl levin of michigan. >> he has a responsibility as governor of avoiding this kind of a cliff. it is not -- it's not good enough we told him -- for him to say that he would like to get this behind us. >> stephanie: he went on to say -- the senator for millions of michigan workers this is no ordinary debate. it is an assault to have their bagger aging assault their pay and to have all benefit from such negotiat

institute the right to work status of indiana is not why the jobs came to indiana, and just ask the autoworkers the big three over the last several years to save the american auto industry, together working people through their unions and their employers can advocate for good jobs and a good economy for everyone. martha: the numbers are what they are. we know that employment is higher in right to work states, wages are higher in right to work states, which we just showed, and we still haven't answered the very basic question which is, it's all fine, this is -- it shows 49,495 in nonright to work states. and 42,000 465 in right to work states. the employment number is better in the right to work states. what is wrong with somebody opting out. if people enjoy all the benefits that you talk about they should absolutely pay their union dues, but what if they don't want to? >> people can, but what is important -- martha: no they can't. >> the important thing is that union members, individual union members pay so that people can -- through the union can advocate on their behalf, that is what is reall